TechZone360

Average Global Internet Access Speeds Should Break 4 Mbps in Third Quarter of 2014

Global Internet access speeds grew about two percent in the second quarter of 2014, on a sequential basis, reaching an average connection speed of 3.9 Mbps and a peak speed of about 19.3 Mbps, down about nine percent from the start of 2014, when peak speeds averaged 21.2 Mbps.

Globally, the average connection speed was up 24 percent over the same period a year prior. Among the top-10 countries, annual speed growth ranged from South Korea’s 145 percent increase to Ireland’s 47 percent growth.

On a global basis, year-over-year increases were seen in all but seven qualifying countries or regions, with increases ranging from 0.7 percent in Panama (to 2.6 Mbps) to 196 percent in Sudan.

In the first quarter of 2014, six countries or regions had average connection speeds of 1 Mbps or less. Bangladesh had an average connection speed of 1 Mbps, while Bolivia, Cameroon, Botswana, and Yemen had speeds of 0.9 Mbps.

Globally, the high-speed broadband adoption rate grew 9.4 percent quarter over quarter, passing 20 percent of total connections globally for the first time.

Looking at year-over-year changes, the global high broadband adoption rate was up 65 percent.

India saw both quarterly and yearly increases similar to those seen in the fourth quarter of 2013, which were enough to move it out of the position as the country with the lowest high broadband adoption rate in the first quarter of 2014.

At a country/region level, South Korea continued to have the highest average connection speed at 23.6 Mbps, and South Korea had the highest average peak connection speed at 68.5 Mbps.

Use of Internet access services operating at a minimum of 10 Mbps grew 9.4 percent, quarter over quarter, to 21 percent.

In the first quarter of 2014, average mobile connection speeds (aggregated at a country level) ranged from a high of 14.7 Mbps in South Korea down to a low of 1.0 Mbps in Argentina.

Average peak mobile connection speeds ranged from 114.2 Mbps in Australia down to 5 Mbps in Iran. The Ukraine had 89 percent of its mobile connections at broadband (at least 4 Mbps) rates, while three countries had only 0.1 percent of connections at those speeds, according to Akamai